1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the use of headed fasteners such as screws and nails, and in particular to devices for feeding such fasteners into a use-ready orientation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automated devices for installing fasteners such as screws and bolts typically utilize feeder mechanisms that place the fasteners into an appropriate orientation for affixation. Frequently, the fasteners are carried on a tape (U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,014) or in a package (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,007,834 and 1,556,240) for presentation to the automated assembly device, which sequentially drives a fastener into its intended location and advances the carrier to the next fastener.
This approach adds expense (not only in the form of the carrier itself, but in the need to properly attach the fasteners to the carrier), and may not be well-suited to larger fasteners. Furthermore, these types of carriers do not lend themselves well to manual applications, where a user repeatedly installs fasteners by hand. The maneuvers necessary to orient a loose fastener properly for installation can, if repeated persistently, prove fatiguing under the best of conditions. In cold weather, especially if gloves are worn, the handling of individual fasteners--bringing them from a container into position for affixation, and maintaining this position until the fastener is driven--can be particularly awkward and time-consuming.
A need exists, therefore, for a hand-held feeder for fasteners such as screws and nails, and which repeatedly and conveniently delivers fasteners into position for sequential affixation.